Tag: Shopping

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Be The Best.

It’s the moments…

Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.

Interesting.

I thought the curved wall going downstairs was a little bare.  I mumbled something to Ingrid about wouldn’t it be cool to have a saying written in text on the wall for something different.

Within a few weeks she had researched, ordered and received this vinyl lettering and most importantly picked out this phrase which I hadn’t seen until it went up on the wall.

I love it.  I think about it every time I head downstairs.

Are milestones important?  Birthdays? Yes. Anniversaries? Yes. Other stuff? (you know what I’m talking about…) Yes.

But really, what’s most important?  It truly is the moments.

As we look back at all of our very treasured memories with Chris and Max as they grew up, so many of the amazing times were simply moments that happened!  Whether it was a three year old Chris climbing a ladder to see his Dad on the roof (true), or the moments of victory at a lacrosse game or the fun and silly times of picking out a Christmas tree, those moments are like gold.

The one thing you need to make moments happen is time.

I remember as young father thinking about how many Dads didn’t get to know their kids because they were so busy or work schedules that were hard to control etc etc.

I am a very busy Dude, but family was ALWAYS first.  Therefore, we made sure we had THOUSANDS of moments.

Those moments are what continue to feed us and help us on our way.

As I was watching that Disneyland video last night I was getting choked up myself.  Those moments were so pure, poignant and unanticipated.  I think that is truly what makes them special.

Anyhoo…another smart decision by that good wife of mine!

Rock your weekend.

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Be The Best.

Vacuums…the update.

Some of you remember Chris’ buddy Tanner who spoke at the funeral last year (feels weird to type ‘last year’).

Tanner was aiming to defy all odds and open a vacuum business at the age of 17.  (He has family in the business, but this venture is all his own.)

Here’s the background post if you want a reminder.

Well, I finally got out to see Tanner today.  We had a coffee and chatted about business.

Yes, he is still aiming for that GED and that will happen in due time, but my goal today was to help Tanner with a business thought or two as he makes his way.

I was very impressed with his shop and most importantly, his attitude.  He really is developing a great brand at Newport Vacuums…one that is devoted to service and customer experience…and he’s doing this all himself at 17.

So our conversation was how to manage growth…and growth is coming with a record sales month in December and I’m sure more on the way in 2011.

In the months before Chris passed away he asked if I would help his buddy Tanner, who I didn’t know well at the time, with some business/management conversations as he was seriously looking at putting school on hold and pursuing a business.  Chris was concerned about the choice, but he was wanting the best for Tanner. That was Chris.  Looking out for his buddies.

Chris…the answer was yes then and yes now.

The paths that Chris’ high school friends take will become very different over time.  That’s even happening now.  Many of his buds are prepping for graduation and then college, travel or just exploring the next step.  Tanner found his next step early and although it’s not an easy road, I’ve seen many businesses that are not led by someone this focused and enthusiastic on becoming successful.

I put together a little vid of today’s visit.

If you need a vacuum, you can take a shot on this kid with some solid confidence!

ps…website is still a work in progress, but you’ll get the jist!

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Be The Best.

The long and the short of it.

I wrote a few lines the other day and just couldn’t hit the ‘publish’ button.

The thoughts were plenty deep and plenty real, but like a good wine, they have now aged an appropriate time and I can provide some greater context.

This Christmas season is not the easiest as you can imagine.

Christmas is all about family, food, traditions.

Of course that invokes memories.  That’s not a bad thing…not at all.  It’s just that this being our first Christmas without Chris, really feels weird.  You shouldn’t take the Chris out of Christmas right?  (yes, this is a a very bad pun at an inappropriate time…but that’s how we roll in this family!)

I wrote these four lines the other day.  They just sort of blurted out of my head.

How broken is my heart?

How deep is my love.

How deep is my love?

How broken is my heart.

One of the things I’ve realized is that the pain we feel, and so many of you feel too, is simply symbolic of the love we had and have for Chris.  You CANNOT have a broken heart if you had no love.  Plain and simple.

For some of you, you never had a chance to meet this kid in person.

He was amazing.  He would light up a room when we walked/bounced/stormed in!

His spirit now lights up many hearts and rooms.

We get through these times by making decisions, giving, and even taking shots in the dark.

If you’ve read this blog before, all of the above will make sense.  If you haven’t…you’ve got some work to do!

That’s the long.  Here’s the short.

I had pieces of two batches of shortbread cookies last night.

Both were unbelievable.  Those of you who know me know I don’t eat wheat so these were rice flour shortbread cookies.  They are hard to find and hard to make.

Yet two different people went out of their way in a gesture of kindness to show us that they were thinking of us at Christmas.

I’m telling you, we are again humbled by these act of kindness.  They not only help us through this journey, but it burns in my mind the incredible positive impact that the action of giving can produce.

I put a few bucks into a Salvation Army kettle last night like so many us have done on this and every other holiday season.  This time though I had more of a sense than ever about how any act, even one so small,  can make an impact.

That’s the long and short of it.

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Be The Best.

The gang rolls in.

After a number of weeks of renovations, the ping pong ‘arena’ recently re-opened in the basement.

That means some ping pong must be played.

Tonight we had some of the old Brookswood gang over.  Great to see Allan, Beau, Cam and Marshall.

I don’t know if I’m just getting shorter…but these guys are definitely getting taller as we approach the 1/3 mark of their grad year.

Of course we think about what this grad year would have been like with Chris…for Chris and for us.  Looking forward to the future.  US colleges? SFU? Lacrosse scholarships?

Those questions will never be answered…and it’s hard.

That being said, it’s fantastic to hear the thoughts, dreams and plans of these young men and others like them as they prepare for their next steps.  Not that everything is clear yet.  My goodness…I had no idea what to do after Grade 12…but you start making decisions, see where that leads and make another decision and keep moving forward.

To everyone I would encourage you that things start with dreams.  Action (ie simple decisions) turn dreams into goals and goals into measurable tasks…usually on a daily and most certainly weekly basis.

Allan picked up his Chris Friesen memorial lacrosse shafts tonight and you see me and the guys in the pics below.  Thanks to Max for being the photographer tonight!

Remember…it’s ok to not know where you’re exactly going.  You just want to keep your feet moving.

THAT is advice that we are aiming to live every single day.

Great to see part of the Gang tonight!

Allan, Marshall, me, Beau and Cam.

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Be The Best.

Feeling quilty.

I’ve gone a week or two without a blog post about quilts.

That won’t do.

I found these pics today from August 2009.  We were having a Friesen family reunion and this was the time where my Mom had the idea to make a family quilt.  You can see that finished product here.

Anyways, I loved these pics of Chris making his square as well as a great shot of him and his cousins fooling around.

These times are so exceptionally treasured.

 

Chris checks out Bri's quilting square.

 

 

Johnathan, Chris, Bri, Pera, Max, Jessica - Summer '09

 

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Be The Best.

Brothers

I remember when we had both Max and Chris as young dudes in piano lessons.

One night, they had a piano recital.  They were both scared.  It was sort of comical.  Here’s why.

Brothers are brothers.  That means always a punch or comment or wedgie or attempted wedgie or something.

That’s what brothers do.

Here’s what else brothers do.  They have each others’ backs.

During this piano recital, the fooling around was over for the night..or at least until the ‘stupid’ recital was over.  It was simply, I’m gonna support you and you’re gonna support me and we’ll get through this horrific event of playing this instrument in front of people we don’t know.

Love it.

Brothers.

Forever.

Chris goes for 'atomic wedgie'...yah, that's Max's head in there somewhere.

Chris and Max ham it up at Disneyland.

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Be The Best.

Grandma’s Quilt

You may remember those blogs about quilts.  You can connect here if you haven’t read them already.

Some amazing work by Kim, a part of my incredible marketing team at BCIT.  Amazing work on many levels and we love it.  Anyone who comes over wants to see the quilt.  I love seeing the lacrosse players pick out their numbers or friends and family recognize the jerseys and clothes that were Chris’ favourites.

I want to show you another quilt tonight.  (who knew this was going to become a quilting blog..!)

The Friesen side of the family had a few days together in the summer of ’09 and my Mom (Leona, Grandma) had an idea of making a quilt at that time.  The goal was for each family member to design a square.  It could be stitched or simply designed with coloured pens.  Each square was to represent something about that person.  Most family members completed their squares over the few days with the last few squares added in the weeks following.

What a cool idea.

What do you think Chris drew?  Yah, not that hard to guess…a couple of lacrosse sticks and a beautiful message to Grandma.  “I love you” in his own handwriting.

He loved his Grandma so much.

Each year he looked forward to her canned peaches and would eat a jar at a sitting if we didn’t catch him first!

What a testament to a Grandma’s love.  What a testament to Chris who wasn’t afraid to tell people he loved his Grandma and Grandpa…even as a 16 year old kid at the time.

What an idea to make this quilt.

I saw it completed just a few weeks ago and this video gives you a close up look at this priceless piece of art.

“I love you”.  Powerful.  We love you too Chris.  Always.

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Be The Best.

Fight Night

Beau Brooks, on left, prepares for debut match against Mat Andreatta.

Two teens from Brookswood Secondary are getting into a fight tonight.  This is the school both Max and Chris attended.

No, not behind the school.  No, not in the hallway.

This is an amateur boxing match where Beau Brooks is making his debut against Mat Andreatta.

Beau was a very close friend of Chris.

Beau joined our family this past New Years at Silver Star for a few days of skiing and snowboarding.

Beau, I know someone who is going to have a virtual ring side seat for this match and going to be going crazy for you!!

Having a dream of being in the ring, going after it, training hard and then getting your first fight along with the front page of the sports section in the paper…that’s Be The Best!

You’ll have a little something special in your corner tonight Beau.

For the full story in the Langley Advance article.

Where: Coast Hotel and Convention Centre – 20393 Fraser Hwy

When: Fri, Aug 27 starting at 7:30pm

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Be The Best.

I got a blister…and I love it.

I always told that kid to use Odour Eaters or Febreeze or something...!

Ingrid and I went for a walk this morning.

I have some video and after the runaway success of ‘Therapy from Birds’ from a few months ago, I may put together the footage at some point!

In any event, this walk was a first with some new shoes. Not totally new mind you…just new to me.

You see they were Chris’ shoes.

I was going to get some new running shoes and it reminded me that for the past year I had been the recepient of a few ‘hand me ups’.

This is what happens when your kids get as big or bigger than you.

Chris always wore his shoes with tucked-in laces…except for lacrosse shoes.  So these sneakers still had the laces tied together with his knots but tucked into the shoe so they appeared untied.  Ingrid deftly untied the knots and we were off.

With any shoes, they’ll need to adjust to my feet.  That’s a bit of discomfort I don’t mind a bit, in fact I love it.

We miss that kid so very much.

I’ll remember him with every step.

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Be The Best.

What’s in the cereal?

Caption, "Free gift inside to anyone named Chris and turning 12 today."

Firstly, let me say that going through the loss of a teenager is brutal.  People have called us strong and positive and we ARE aiming to make positive decisions and we will.  But the underlying fact that we’ve lost our child will of course never go away.  One major thing that is helping us however, is that we did not have many regrets about how we lived.  It’s not that we didn’t have busy work lives and professional lives, but we made sure we had fun and spent a lot of time together. Take Chris’ 12th birthday. We modified his morning cereal box to include a message about a ‘free gift’.Chris and his cereal.

We then inserted a ‘gift card’ telling him about a new bike waiting for him.  He would be devastated to think I would ever show these pictures, but if you stick around, I’ll show you some more!

So we have a very simple act that parents have repeated thousands of times the world over…buying a bike for their kid.  The only change we made was to turn a simple act into an event.  It didn’t cost a lot of money.  It really didn’t take that much time….but what it did do was create a memory and experience.  These were the experiences that Max, Chris, Ingrid and I would laugh about and in fact during Ingrid’s birthday dinner on March 22, we laughed many times sharing stories about family activities, adventures and misadventures.

My point (yes, I’ll get there eventually) is that creating memories and experiences doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.  The payoff, however, is simply priceless.

Memory created.